The Blind Man’s Dream

The Blind Man’s Dream

Years ago, seemingly out of the clear blue, a thought came into my head, how do blind people dream? Do they see? Or do they dream in all the other senses but sight? I thought I should interview people who were blind from birth and find out. It seemed important. It also seemed poetic, symbolic. I initially imagined the project as a novel. It remained a provocative title, nestled cozily on a shelf in my mind, unwritten. Until now.

Now it comes back to me, with an ironic twist. I recognize myself to be the blind man, dreaming. It is just like A Course in Miracles says,

“Dreams show you that you have the power to make a world as you would have it be, and that because you want it you see it. And while you see it you do not doubt that it is real. Yet here is a world, clearly within your mind, that seems to be outside. You do not respond to it as though you made it, nor do you realize that the emotions the dream produces must come from you. It is the figures in the dream and what they do that seem to make the dream. You do not realize that you are making them act out for you, for if you did the guilt would not be theirs, and the illusion of satisfaction would be gone.” (T-18.II.5:1-6)

At least we can become lucid dreamers, aware that we are dreaming even as we dream. We can develop a neutral, or even amused, attitude toward the ego’s dream. We can choose again, continually returning to the decision-making part of our minds, and deciding for the perception of right mind by surrendering to the Holy Spirit. When we do this, the blind man’s dream becomes a happy dream, and we are well on our way to remembering true vision.